Horcoff updates Red Wings fans on player development during pandemic

DETROIT - Much like the NHL's other 30 teams, the Detroit Red Wings are patiently waiting for news surrounding the start of the 2020-21 season.

The hope is a contingent of players will soon be convening for Training Camp in Detroit. But player and prospect development doesn't stop during a pandemic. The Red Wings' front office has diligently kept that process moving along, with technology bridging a gap that spans thousands of miles.
As has been well-documented, the Red Wings have loaned multiple players to teams in Europe during the past several months. While it wasn't the original plan, it has definitely been strategic.
With COVID-19 cases and outbreaks varying across the world, opportunities have come to the forefront for select players to safely compete, and to gain invaluable experience. For many of the Red Wings' young players and prospects, it's simply come down to getting additional reps.
"We view it as a challenge, and we view it as an opportunity to take a step forward," said Shawn Horcoff, the Red Wings' director of player development and assistant director of player personnel, on the Red & White Authority Podcast presented by Labatt Blue. "I think we've done a good job as an organization placing as many guys as we've possibly been able to.
"We kind of had a good idea in the summer that this is what it was going to look like during the year. We put lots of off-ice workouts together, skill skating packages together. We feel like we're prepared as you can be. But every day is different and we're trying to get better in that every day."
Much like Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman and his amateur scouting staff were able to do during the pre-draft period, Horcoff, Dan Cleary and the player development staff have tracked the progress of the Red Wings' young players by viewing games online.
"The computers become our best friend," Horcoff said. "We're fortunate that we do have a lot of people playing. At least in Europe, there's been a pretty steady dose of games over there. There's been lots to watch. It's not the same as in person, but there's still lots of work to be done."
What has also been beneficial is the recently retired Niklas Kronwall spending extended time in his native Sweden. He's been able to scout the Red Wings' 14 young players and prospects skating for different teams across the country, including Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Raymond. The club currently also has seven prospects on Sweden's 34-man camp roster for the World Junior Championship.
"It's been really nice having him (Kronwall) on the ground there," said Horcoff. "He's been able to go to some games live, obviously meet with some of these kids in person. Having Nik come on, with the experience he has playing defense, and just how good of a player he was, is a valuable asset. It's always easier dealing with these kids when you have the NHL people that they've watched. That they're used to seeing. That they can really put a face to an NHL player that they are dealing with personally."
In a traditional year, the annual Development Camp would precede Training Camp, and new prospects would get some valuable ice time with their future teammates shortly after being drafted into the NHL. Unfortunately for the Red Wings' most recent draft class, that wasn't possible. Like everything else in 2020, Horcoff and his staff adjusted.
"Nothing has really changed in the way we attack the draft," Horcoff said. "The only thing that was different is that they weren't getting on a plane and flying in for Development Camp. We put together sort of a rough Zoom initiation call to try to introduce them to as many people as we possibly could, especially the people that they were going to be in contact with."

During his appearance on the Red & White Authority, Horcoff weighed in on several of the Red Wings' young players and prospects. He also confirmed that Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina will travel back to the United States and be eligible to rejoin the Red Wings' Training Camp roster, whenever it begins.
On 2020 first-round pick Lucas Raymond
"He's a really good player. You can just see the talent and skill and sense that he has. But even more so, the drive he has. He's got this quiet confidence. He knows that he's good, but he wants to be great. He just seems motivated and even more dedicated to being the best player that he can. So there's lots to like about Lucas."
On 2020 second-round pick William Wallinder
"He's a big, raw kid. There's some ability there. Obviously, he's played well, and been a name to kind of follow for the past few years. There's some fine tuning in his game that he's going to need to do. He needs to get bigger and stronger. Needs to find more dedication in the gym. But there's lots of raw ability there. The development staff likes raw ability, so we're looking forward to working with him."
On Filip Zadina
"It's important that Z's playing. He's a guy that really developed a lot last year, and it was important for us to have him get reps. Get out there, play in the game. He put a lot of good effort in this offseason. He put on strength, and his skating looks better. He's scored some nice goals over there. So it's good that he's playing, and he should be in a lot better situation coming into Training Camp."
On Filip Hronek
"We're happy that he's playing. He's playing very well. He plays on the National Team, and did very well for them. One of the best defensemen in the tournament. So he's progressing nicely."
On Michael Rasmussen
"Rass is another guy that we found a place for him to play, because he really, this offseason, found a new dedication to himself, to his game, wanting to get better. He's ready, he feels like he's ready to make that next step. Put a lot of work in on skating and off the ice. It was important for him to get into a league, into a competitive situation playing games. He's doing that now."
On Moritz Seider
"In my opinion, he's playing in the best league in the world. He's stepped right in and played top minutes, all situations, and has done very, very well. That's not easy to do at his age. Mo continues his progress, and we're excited about his development."
On Joe Veleno
"Joe's playing a ton and in all situations in a really good league. That's the type of player that we view Joe being, is a 200-foot player that should be able to (play) both on the penalty kill, be on the power play, play on the offensive side, but yet he can skate well enough to be able to shut down other teams' top players. That's a lot to ask of anyone, and it takes time to mature into that type of role. In order to do that, you need to be in situations where you're able to. That was the ease for us in loaning Joe for the entire year, was that we knew he'd be in that situation."
On Jonatan Berggren
"He's a guy that can skate very well. He's a very good passer, has good vision. I think the one thing that he's working on, and we talk about, is just getting to the inside more, creating more shots. He's a guy, at times, that just always looks for the pass, which is fine because that's what he's good at. But that's going to be a little bit easier to defend at the NHL level. He's looked into it and he's working on it. I think he's starting to see some of the rewards."
On Gustav Lindstrom
"He makes good plays under pressure; he's got a lot of pro attributes. When he came to Detroit (for Development Camp), I thought he did an excellent job. He did not look out of place at all, and looks to be a guy that is going to play a lot of games for us in the future. We're happy that he's playing. We didn't want to release him all year long, we want to call him back over at the start of the season because we feel like he's a guy with a legit shot to make the Opening Night roster."